Commenting on a new scale of proposed REACH fees, The Chemical Business Association (CBA) said that the fees to be charged by the European Chemicals Agency were “out of control”. Some of the fees are said to represent an increase of several hundred per cent over the figures originally proposed by the European Commission.
“This is the second time that proposed REACH fees have escalated and they have now achieved a level where they are completely unacceptable and will inflict significant damage to the competitiveness of the industry,” said Melvyn Whyte, Chairman of CBA’s REACH Task Force.
The base fee for a joint submission to register a substance in the 1-10 tonnes category was originally budgeted by the Commission to be 400 euros, a figure that was revised to 804 euros in 2006. The latest Commission proposal sees the fee increased to 1,200 euros, a 200% increase on the original budget.